
Is the open web a student’s friend or foe? (And other burning questions about user experience)
Our recent webinar, UX (user experience) in the US, in collaboration with Technology from Sage, is a thought-provoking conversation with librarians and master's students in the US. It's a must-watch if you're interested in bridging the gaps that can prevent library users from finding and using the digital content they need for their research.
It follows our own 2023 report on library user experience and Technology from Sage’s white paper Librarian Futures Part II. Both reports uncovered that many students and researchers don’t see their institutional library as the go-to for resources, or librarians as a help in gaining access to them. They also reveal widespread concerns that resources are dispersed across the internet, and that users struggle to gauge the quality and relevance of what they find.
The good news is that when learners do engage more closely with librarians they find the support invaluable. Master's student Sarah Colosimo says:
Often now I’m searching super-niche topics and I need that extra help. I appreciate that our university offers liaison librarians.
She and fellow Master’s student Hannah Bruckner are certain that their own early engagement with their library helped them make good academic progress as undergraduates.
They have some good ideas about how to encourage others. Hannah says:
What could really help is having faculty promote library resources because our professors welcome questions. If the faculty and library are more integrated it could help students get answers to specific research questions.
For their part, our panel’s librarians agree this is key. David Leffler, discovery and access librarian in the Jerry Falwell Library at Liberty University prioritizes providing online and in-person advice. Alexis Soard, associate librarian, systems and operation at the University of Phoenix is committed to working with faculty. She takes resources out of the library and into the classrooms. When the library effectively comes to the student and resources aren’t obscured by ‘clunky’ university library portals, reluctance often melts away. Students have a good user experience and their learning outcomes improve as a result.
(For more on this, read our case study detailing how the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is using new features in our Reporting API tool to demonstrate the value of its research library. It highlights how engagement with the library is boosting student success.)
Both students stressed there’s a need for librarians to demonstrate how to use library systems and tools – not just at the start but throughout a program of studies. Hannah told us that for some new students, early teaching about basic research steps doesn’t get traction. That comes later: “As students get more interested in subjects they’re more likely to engage and learn how to use the library.”
Do these librarians discourage open web searching? No, says David Leffler. Realistically, he believes librarians should recognize that its user friendliness will always be appealing.
Instead, says Alexis:
We show people how to use it responsibly. People will start on Google. We’re trying to teach them when they need to switch to use the library’s resources and when Google is no longer their friend.
To round up the conversation we asked each panel member to come up with one thing that would smooth the user’s journey to library resources and we found universal agreement:
Alexis: “Everything searchable via a single search box”
David: “Natural language searching – AI could help us achieve this”
Hannah: “A single search engine, and an easy way to organize and summarize what we find”
Sarah: “I’d love to simply type in what I would type into Google and get everything there is”

Catch up on the webinar!
For these insights and more, watch the user experience (UX) in the US webinar.
Plus, catch-up on our previous webinar with Technology from Sage: Harnessing the Power of Collaboration between Librarians and IT Professionals.